


Only Reason

by letsjustsee



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Beekeeping, Fluff, Meet-Cute, Mistaken Identity, No Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-10
Updated: 2017-07-10
Packaged: 2018-11-30 03:29:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11455059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/letsjustsee/pseuds/letsjustsee
Summary: “We are so lucky to have with us one of the leading experts on beekeeping in the modern age, Dr. Louis Draper.”No. No, no, no…“I know I speak for many of us when I say that this man’s books have guided our practice, or helped us get started,” Harry continued, and Louis watched as the crowd nodded their heads in agreement.Oh shit. No. What? No.But then Harry was gesturing towards him, saying “Dr. Draper?” into the microphone, the crowd was applauding, and Louis found himself walking up the stairs to the stage.Or, Louis is most definitely smitten with Harry from the second he sees him, but he is alsomost definitelynot the world's foremost expert on beekeeping. He decides to roll with it anyway.





	Only Reason

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FogAndTea](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FogAndTea/gifts).



> Happy Birthday to my dearest [@fogandtea](http://fogandtea.tumblr.com) \- I had no idea that choosing you as a beta off some random list would result in NOT ONLY a fantastic editor, but a great friend. You're one of my favorite parts of being in this fandom, and I'm so happy you were born! I hope you enjoy this silly, random AU featuring our two favorite lovable weirdos. 
> 
> Special thanks to [Molly](http://becomeawendybird.tumblr.com) for looking over this for me, you're the sweetest!
> 
> Title is from Drag Me Down, which is currently at the top of @fogandtea's favorites list - although when pressed she'll tell you "it's like you're making me choose one of my children", because she is wonderful and dramatic.

This was all Niall’s fault. It was Niall’s fault that Louis was here in the first place, so it seemed to reason that it was also Niall’s fault that Louis was nervously tugging at his shirt collar, looking around the room at strangers.

Niall had somehow convinced him that a singles mixer was the perfect place to get back on his feet. Not that Louis needed to “get back on his feet” in the first place. He’d been single for almost a year now, but that hardly qualified him for sympathy, in his opinion. Niall had insisted, though, that Louis needed to get back out there, meet a new guy, stop staying at home every weekend and watching Netflix.

What was so wrong with Netflix?

Begrudgingly, Louis had agreed to _maybe_ see what his options were, which resulted in Niall enthusiastically announcing that he was already signed up for an event the very next night.

Louis had left the room immediately to avoid inflicting violence on his best friend.

The past 24 hours had seen him threaten to back out no less than twenty times, but somehow, _somehow_ , here he was – standing in a room full of people, eyeing everyone nervously as he tried to work up the courage to say hello. When he arrived at the hotel where the event was being held (" _How did you even find this place, Niall?”_ ), he had to give himself a mental pep talk just to walk into the room.

One drink. He was going to stay for one drink, and one drink only, and then he would allow himself to bolt at the first opportunity. The check-in table was a much less formal process than he expected, and he found only a handwritten sign that said “Welcome!” with little decorative, cartoon bees drawn around it, next to a pile of sticky nametags.

He thought briefly about assuming a new identity. Couldn’t strike out if nobody knew his real name, right?

It was only when he finally, after much deliberation, stuck the little tag on his shirt (which read LOUIS in all caps, with a smiley face) that he started to panic quite a bit. What was he even doing here? A quick glance around had his spirits falling even further – there wasn’t a single man that seemed to be under the age of about 50. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion as he continued to survey the crowd. Why were there so many women here?

What the hell kind of mixer did Niall sign him up for?

He was alternating grinding his teeth with biting his lip by now, and he thought if he didn’t get some alcohol in him immediately he was going to combust. It was on his third scan of the room, desperately searching for the bar that didn’t seem to exist, that he froze in place, his eyes drawn to a man whose head was thrown back in joyous laughter.

 _Damn_ , maybe he was too hasty in his judgment of the crowd here.

The man was tall and broad, wearing a light blue button up, and he had long, shiny curls that fell around his shoulders. Louis couldn’t tear his eyes away from his jawline, so defined even across the room, and he found himself staring for a moment as the man continued his conversation with a woman who looked thirty years his senior.

The man did a quick scan of the room, and Louis started when he saw the double take – the man’s head swiveled back quickly to Louis, a quirk of his lips that seemed involuntary, and he watched mesmerized as the man seemed to wrap up his conversation with the woman and started making his way across the room.

And, _oh shit_ he was making his way across the room. Towards Louis.

He barely had time to register what was happening before the man was in front of him, extending a hand and a hypnotic smile, introducing himself in a slow, deep voice.

“Hi, I‘m Harry Styles.”

Louis couldn’t remember how to speak. Or, that’s what it felt like at least, mesmerized by the details of Harry, his large fingers, his _dimples_ , the cute white bees printed all over his shirt.

“I organized today’s event,” Harry said, shaking Louis out of his muteness.

“Oh shit,” he said, extending a hand finally and grasping Harry’s, shaking firmly. He winced when he realized what he just said. “Sorry. Christ, sorry.”

To his credit, Harry only laughed and smiled wider at Louis’ fumble. He could feel his cheeks going red under Harry’s intense gaze, and crossed his arms before he realized a second too late that he didn’t introduce himself yet.

“I’m-” he started, but Harry cut him off in a rush of excitement.

“You’re Louis?” He stared at Louis’ nametag with an expression on his face that Louis couldn’t decipher. Excitement and, maybe, confusion? Harry’s eyes got wide and his eyebrows shot up his forehead.

“Um, yep, yeah,” Louis said, nodding his head, still crossing his arms. “That’s me.”

“Louis,” Harry said again, emphatically. “I’m the one you’ve been emailing with.”

 _Damn it Niall,_ Louis thought. This was all his fault.

“Oh, uh,” Louis stumbled over his words once again. Harry’s enthusiasm was flustering him. It certainly had nothing to do with how good looking he was, not at all. “My friend, um, actually-”

Harry was looking at him so expectantly, with so much hope, Louis hated to crush his expectations.

“My friend Niall actually handled all that for me,” he explained, shrugging his shoulders, trying to remain casual. He felt guilty that Harry thought they had spoken before, only to find out he wasn’t the one who signed up for this mixer in the first place.

To his credit, understanding seemed to wash over Harry and he nodded his head. “Of course,” he agreed. “That makes sense. Well I’m so happy you’re here.”

Genuine excitement crossed over Harry’s face, and Louis couldn’t help but get swept up in it. They smiled at each other for a moment, and Louis was about to dive into the awkward part of getting to know one another ( _What are you into? Do you believe in love at first sight?_ You know, the usual), when Harry seemed to snap out of it and started with delight.

Clapping his hands in front of him he said, “We’re about to begin actually, you should come with me.”

And with that, he turned around, and Louis assumed he was meant to follow him.

Unsure what Harry meant by begin, but willing to follow him pretty much anywhere, Louis trailed after, taking in the front of the room for the first time. Unlike the place where guests were mingling, the front of the room had rows of chairs set up, and a stage with a large screen behind it. Maybe Harry was going to introduce the event before people starting officially mingling? Although, it would make more sense to Louis if the chairs were set up differently, at least facing one another, perhaps a speed dating configuration.

His musings were cut short when he realized Harry had led him to the side of the stage, and turned towards him with a huge smile on his face. Louis couldn’t help but return it – there was just something incredibly infectious about Harry, and Louis sent up a silent thanks to Niall for meddling in his life. Not that Louis would ever mention that to his face. He hadn’t lost all common sense.

The crowd had begun to sit as Louis and Harry were making their way up to the front, and Louis looked at them curiously. He was definitely missing _something_. The apprehension he was feeling started to build when Harry turned towards him and laid a warm hand on his shoulder, those fucking dimples popping out again.

“Wait here, will only be a moment.”

He gave Louis’ shoulder a squeeze and hurried up the steps to the stage. Louis thought that Harry honestly could have told him to wait for an hour, and he probably would have done it. Harry’s hand on him made his stomach flip flop, and the feeling lingered as he watched his backside in front of him. He forgot about his nerves momentarily, but started to fidget again when Harry approached a microphone stand in the middle of the stage, and the screen behind him came to life.

A stylized bee logo with the letters BKA appeared in the middle of it, and Louis started to panic.

_What was… what if… was…_

Was he at the wrong event?

Oh _shit, fuck, no, no, no.._.

Louis’ breathing picked up as Harry cleared his throat and drew the crowd’s attention to himself.

“Um, hello,” he said, and the chatter died down as people began to clap for Harry. He smiled and tried to wave them off shyly. “Thank you, you’re very kind.”

Louis glanced at the crowd, noticing now that there was a definite theme to them – older, sitting with rapt attention, and many of them wearing shirts that bore the same emblem as the screen behind Harry.

Louis was going to have to bolt. Right now. Right fucking-

“I’m so excited to be hosting you all today,” Harry said, and despite Louis’ realization that he needed to remove himself from whatever this situation was immediately, his feet were stuck to the floor. He got sucked into Harry’s deep voice, lulled into a false sense of security. Surely Louis hadn’t misinterpreted things too poorly, surely Harry was going to come off stage and ask Louis to get a drink with him, explain why this mixer was so different than normal. He zoned back in to hear Harry welcoming people, making them chuckle with some sort of pun that went over his head. It wasn’t until he heard his first name that Louis’ mouth went completely dry, and his heart felt like it dropped into his toes. “We are so lucky to have with us one of the leading experts on beekeeping in the modern age, Dr. Louis Draper.”

_No. No, no, no…_

“I know I speak for many of us when I say that this man’s books have guided our practice, or helped us get started,” Harry continued, and Louis watched as the crowd nodded their heads in agreement.

_Oh shit. No. What? No._

Louis realized he was starting to shake his head, and he tried to school his features. Harry looked at him and flashed a smile, and Louis felt his knees go a bit weak.

Of course the fittest, most gorgeous man he’d ever met was going to hate him in a few minutes when he found out the truth. But he had to tell the truth, had to tell Harry there had been a massive mistake, that whatever Louis he had been emailing with was certainly not him, that it was all a mix-up. He had to…didn’t he?

But then Harry was gesturing towards him, saying “Dr. Draper?” into the microphone, the crowd was applauding, and Louis found himself walking up the stairs to the stage.

 _Don’t do this_ , his brain screamed at him, _turn around, turn the fuck around_. But his legs carried him all the way to the microphone, where Harry was holding out an arm like he wanted to wrap it around him, and Louis allowed himself to be held at Harry’s side, his large hand squeezing him gently, presenting him to the crowd. And Louis no longer heard the applause, no longer heard the cheers, could only focus on Harry’s hand on his hip, touching him gently.

And all sense went out the window.

Because the next thing Louis knew, he was holding a clicker in his hand, the stage was empty save for him, and Harry was taking a seat in the front row, smiling up at him expectantly.

“Um,” Louis chuckled nervously, talking into the microphone. “Hello.”

Hellos and cheers rang up from the audience, and Louis laughed nervously again. He had no idea what he was doing, why he was keeping this charade up, but every time he would look down into Harry’s eager face, something spurred him on.

How hard could it be to give a little lecture?

Louis had bullshit most of his way through university, was this really any different? He was fine, this was fine. He glanced over his shoulder to the screen, which was now queued up with what looked like a presentation.

 **BEEKEEPING: HISTORY, THEORY, AND PRACTICE  
** **PRESENTED BY DR. LOUIS DRAPER  
** **FOR THE BEEKEEPER’S ASSOCIATION**

Okay, nothing too complicated. Louis could just read the slides, maybe stumble his way through a bit, and then he could ask Harry out afterwards. The inevitable conversation about how he _wasn’t_ actually an expert on beekeeping, well that would just have to come later.

Preferably after Harry was already madly in love with him.

He fidgeted nervously at the mic, the audience looking up at him, completely captivated already, and Louis spoke again, trying to hide his fear.

“Like Harry said, I’m Louis,” he smiled down at Harry, who returned it in full. Harry even threw in a small wink, which had Louis stumbling over himself again briefly. “And I’m very excited to be here today.”

The murmurs of agreement from the crowd steeled his nerves a bit.

He could do this. He tried to remind himself that it wasn’t much different from his everyday life working for a tech startup. Often it was Louis who was responsible for giving presentations, getting investors excited, keeping people engaged – even if he knew nothing about bees, at the very least he could get the crowd going. That was his new goal. Just keep them interested.

“How’s everyone doing?”

The audience seemed a little surprised that he was addressing them at all, a few people looking around to their neighbors for confirmation that they should answer. But then Harry gave a cute little “Woo!” and started applauding, making people laugh, and everybody joined in. Louis shot him a look that he hoped conveyed his appreciation, trying hard to hide his fond, and barreled on.

“The first thing I want to say today is that _you all_ are the experts here,” Louis began, pointing at the audience with determination. “Don’t think of me as the ‘professional’,” he said, using air quotes with his hand holding the clicker, the other gripping the mic tightly from nerves. “Honestly, I just want you to think of me as a regular guy.”

He started pacing the stage a bit, trying to get into what he was saying. “In fact, let’s just wipe the slate clean. We’re all here learning together, and I’m going to take this journey with you. By the end, we’ll all have the same knowledge about bees, no differentiating between you and I, how does that sound?”

Half the audience was on board, nodding their heads and murmuring their agreement, while the other half seemed to be a little hesitant. Louis was just trying to keep his head above water at this point, and in the back of his mind he thought prefacing the presentation with a little grain of truth (that these people literally knew more about bees than he probably ever would), might garner him some favor once the reality of the situation inevitably came to light.

“So uh,” Louis said, stopping in the middle of the stage and facing the audience, one hand on his hip. He took a deep breath before continuing. “I guess we’re doing this. Just gonna jump right in.”

He pressed the clicker once, and the first slide appeared behind him, an ornate diagram of a bee, with a few bullet points of text underneath.

“Right so,” Louis started, angling his body so he could read the screen but not turn his back on everyone. “This… is a bee.”

Everyone laughed, but Louis could hear Harry’s particularly loud giggle above the rest. Louis chuckled quietly too, as he quickly scanned the information in front of him.

“Uh, and, as I’m sure we’re all well aware, bees are a part of the superfamily ah.. ah-poy-dee-uh,” Louis sounded out the word as he read it, and it felt clunky in his mouth. He paused, nervously looking at the audience, but everyone’s faces were schooled into polite neutrality. He made a mental note not to try and pronounce anything that wasn’t immediately recognizable anymore. That was probably a dead giveaway. “But enough about that,” he continued, rapidly clicking to the next slide.

This one had multiple pictures of bees, all different variations, and their names printed next to them. He was definitely going to avoid saying those out loud, but he settled for a middle ground, reading the caption instead.

“And here we see just some of the 20,000 known species of bees… 20,000?” He repeated the number, disbelief evident in his voice. “That is _a lot_.”

Yet again, a nervous chortle ran through the audience, and he glanced at Harry to see him biting his lip, holding back a smile.

 _Right_ , he thought, _you’re the expert here Tomlinson. Reign it in._

“I mean, uh,” he continued, ramping up the enthusiasm, “isn’t it? Isn’t that amazing to everyone? The sheer number of bees on our planet?”

People nodded vigorously, and he saw quite a few smiles throughout the crowd.

“Right, because, I mean,” he started pacing a bit again, pausing before going onto the next slide, thinking of ways to spice things up. “That’s why we’re all here isn’t it? Love of bees?”

He heard some murmurs of agreement, and a few audible _Yeah_ s scattered throughout. He nodded his head along with them, the adrenaline coursing through him, pushing him forward.

“Yeah!” he exclaimed, as he clicked the button once more.

This time, a lone picture appeared, a large bee surrounded by a few smaller ones. There were no words on the screen, but he didn’t think he could just bypass the picture entirely without acknowledging it, so he took a chance.

“And this picture here, uh,” he looked intently at it, and reached back to scratch at his neck nervously with the clicker. Thinking on his feet was usually a strong suit, and he blurted the first thing he thought of. “This is obviously a picture of the queen. Queen bee. Yep.” He left out any further details, figuring he could just roll with it as he went, and he pushed the clicker once more to advance the presentation.

Instead of a new slide, though, words appeared underneath the current picture in a large, bold, black font:

**NOT THE QUEEN.**

Before Louis could even process his mistake, he heard a loud snort from the audience, and turned to see Harry bent over with his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking from laughter. Despite his fuck up, he was helpless not to join in, a smile spreading on his face instantly, a small fit of giggles taking over him as he watched Harry’s reaction to his disaster of a speech.

Luckily, the rest of the crowd took their cues from Louis, thinking it must have been a joke, and started laughing appreciatively. After a moment, Harry looked up from his hands, his cheeks streaked with tears from giggling so hard, and shook his head at Louis with a fond look on his face. Louis gave a minute little shrug, just enough that Harry could see it, and Harry smirked and _winked again_.

That fucker. The jig was totally up. Clearly Harry knew that Louis had no clue what he was talking about, and yet he was letting him flail up there on his own.

Although, Louis thought quickly, Harry didn’t seem angry – in fact he seemed downright endeared with Louis’ dumpster fire of a presentation, was sitting there with an amused smile on his face, so maybe this wasn’t going to end in the worst case scenario. If Harry could forgive him for a little case of mistaken identity, well, then he could finish this presentation, and give it all he had.

“Right,” he continued, once the laughter died down. “Obviously a little bee joke on my part.” He flashed the audience a smile, and he saw a few people give in to what Niall called the Tommo Charm. He advanced the slides once again, this time delving into diagrams and information about ancient beekeeping.

This part of the presentation seemed to run a little smoother, as the facts and figures weren’t hard to pronounce, and Louis found himself interested in the material. Apparently, ancient depictions of beekeepers blowing smoke into hives were something that existed, and before he could think better of it, Louis was throwing in a joke about ‘sharing a buzz’, and Harry was releasing a sound so much like a honk that Louis had to pause and check if he was okay.

He waved him off, trying to get his laughter under control, as the audience around them nervously chuckled.

“My apologies,” Louis continued, the picture of professionalism, as though he hadn’t just referenced getting high in front of a group of strangers. Let it never be said he passed up perfect opportunities, though. He simply pretended like nothing was amiss, Harry still struggling to catch his breath, and tried to continue on with the presentation.

After a few more slides, though, he started to realize that the good Dr. Draper, while clearly an expert on the material, didn’t have the first clue about how to engage an audience. Even without the background information needed to present to the group, Louis recognized right away that these were simply pictures and facts slapped into a presentation – there was no flair, no pizazz, and Louis decided right then and there to change that. If Harry wasn’t going to fault him for taking on someone else’s gig, then he hoped he also wouldn’t do so for choosing to veer from the path a little.

“Right,” Louis said, stopping in the middle of the stage and turning his back to the screen, facing the audience completely. “I could stand up here and go on all day about bee facts, but where’s the fun in that?”

The audience tittered, and Louis chanced a peek at Harry, who was looking at him with mild suspicion, brow furrowed and a small smile on his face.

“I want to hear from you all,” Louis said, crouching down to place the clicker on the ground, and free up one of his hands, the mic still held tight in the other. He raised his eyebrows, and crossed his arm not holding the mic across his chest. “What do you love about beekeeping? What brought you here?”

There was silence for a moment, as people looked at one another in hesitation, but Louis was used to it. He knew if he waited, if he let the silence linger for a few more seconds, someone would speak up. He continued watching the crowd, avoiding Harry’s gaze, even though it took everything in him to do so.

A woman in the third row tentatively raised her hand, and Louis nodded at her, “Yep, go ahead love.”

“Well,” she said, standing up slowly and beginning to speak with some trepidation. Louis smiled at her encouragingly. “I love the feeling it gives me. My garden benefits from the bees, and it just makes me feel very accomplished.” Her cheeks were reddening as she spoke, but Louis was already agreeing with her as she finished.

“Absolutely,” he exclaimed. “That sounds amazing.”

People were nodding their heads as she sat back down, agreeing with her, and another man raised his hand as he stood up, the audience becoming more invested now.

“I just love working with my hands,” he said, looking around at the audience instead of just addressing Louis. Louis smiled at his enthusiasm. “I think we can all agree that beekeeping gives us something to look forward to every day.” The group was excited now, agreeing verbally, and hands started shooting up in the air. People started sharing without Louis having to prompt them, and he stood back and watched as people shared a multitude of reasons that they loved beekeeping.

Finally, stealing a glance at Harry, he expected to find him watching the current speaker, but instead he was gazing at Louis intently, biting his bottom lip. It made Louis flush and look away quickly, but he steeled himself and looked back, catching Harry’s eye and quirking his lips up in a small smile. Once they made eye contact, Harry released his lower lip from his teeth, and leveled Louis with an incredible smile. It gave Louis butterflies, and he could only hold his gaze for a moment before looking away again, but he was thoroughly distracted for the rest of the audience members’ answers.

Finally, once things seemed to be slowing down, Louis got a spark of an idea.

“And what about our fearless leader?” he said into the mic, and Harry’s face transformed into a comical expression of surprise. People started cheering quietly for Harry, encouraging him to stand, and Louis continued. “What do you love about beekeeping, Harry?”

Harry stumbled to his feet, his legs endless in their tight black jeans, and seemed a little flustered before he addressed the group.

“Um,” he said, holding his hands together in front of him, and Louis couldn’t look away. “I think, um-”

His voice was deep, and slow, and Louis was pretty sure he could listen to him talk about anything forever.

“Honestly, I know this might sound silly,” Harry said, shrugging his shoulders in a self-deprecating motion. “But getting to be a part of this group, getting to meet passionate and caring people like you all,” he added, addressing the room, “has been incredible.”

Louis’ stomach swooped again, smiling widely at Harry’s candor. It looked like he wasn’t alone either, the group of people gathered looking lovingly at Harry, like they already knew how special he was, like they weren’t surprised at his genuine and lovely comments.

“I just think,” he finished up, and looked back up at Louis, making eye contact. “Sometimes we stumble into things that are unexpected, but they, uh… they can really change your life.”

Louis was struck speechless at Harry’s words, their eyes stuck on each other, as the audience burst into applause for Harry. He smiled sheepishly, sitting back down, but Louis stood there with the mic at his side, unsure what to say.

It took a moment of semi-awkward silence for him to snap out of it, and he quickly brought the mic back up to his face to address the room.

“Right,” he started, enthusiasm creeping back into his voice, trying to hide his fumble. “Thank you all for sharing. I think that might be a great place to end it on, though, so thank you so much for having me.” Louis hurried to finish up, the group getting to their feet and applauding for him. He honestly couldn’t believe they were that into it, but he smiled and bowed a little as a gesture of thanks, placing the mic back in its stand and retreating as quickly as he could.

The group started to disperse, chatting with each other happily, heading for the refreshments table nearby, but Louis made a beeline for the only person that mattered at the moment.

It seemed Harry was on the same wavelength, because it only took a few seconds for them to come face to face once again, and suddenly Louis wasn’t sure what to say. _Sorry for impersonating your speaker_ , or s _orry I might have fucked up your meeting_ , or maybe _d_ _o you want to run away together and elope_? There were too many options, really.

Luckily, Harry broke the silence first, sticking out his hand once again and introducing himself.

“So,” he started, smiling at Louis with a knowing look in his eyes. “I’m Harry Styles. And you are…?”

Louis sagged a bit, half sighing, half laughing at himself, but he stuck out his own hand nonetheless and shook Harry’s outstretched one.

“I’m Louis,” he said, pausing for effect. “Tomlinson. It’s nice to meet you, and I am incredibly sorry.”

They dropped hands, and Harry laughed with genuine glee.

“Well, that was definitely the best talk we’ve ever had at one of these.”

Louis rolled his eyes softly, and crossed his arms. “There’s no way that’s true.”

“No really,” Harry insisted, placing a hand on Louis’ shoulder that had him frozen in place. “You might not be an expert at bees, but I don’t think I’ve seen people enjoy themselves that much. Pretty much ever. So, thanks Louis Tomlinson.”

Louis looked up into Harry’s eyes, his hand still warm on Louis’ shoulder, and bit his lip.

“You’re not mad?”

“I was a little confused at first,” Harry admitted, smirking. “But no, not mad.”

“What gave it away?” Louis asked, wondering at what point in the presentation his lack of expertise became apparent.

“What gave it away, hmm,” Harry pretended to think, taking his hand away from Louis’ shoulder and stroking his chin exaggeratedly.  Louis began to giggle, and Harry continued to speak through his own laughter. “I’d say it was a little up and down the whole way, to be honest.”

Louis made a pained facial expression, scrunching his nose up, but Harry kept going before he could defend himself.  

“Also, the text I got as soon as I sat down that Dr. Draper was stuck in standstill traffic was a pretty big clue.”

Louis let out a noise like a squawk. “You let me flail up there on my own, and you knew I was bullshitting. Honestly, Harold, what kind of person does that?”

They were both smiling incessantly at each other now, caught up in the electricity passing between them, and Louis wondered fleetingly if it would be inappropriate to just propose then and there.

When Harry didn’t respond, Louis thought back on his speech. “To be honest, it was pretty cool hearing everyone’s perspective on beekeeping.” He remembered the words Harry shared, the pointed look he gave him as he talked about unexpected things changing your life, and inspiration struck. “Especially your answer,” he continued, and Harry quirked an eyebrow at him. “Would you say this qualifies as one of those _unexpected things_?”

Harry looked down, blushing, like he was embarrassed to have his own words parroted back at him, but Louis kept silent, waiting for him to respond. They smiled at each other again when Harry finally looked back up, shyness creeping into his expression.

Louis expected him to answer his question, expected him to maybe brush it off, but was not expecting it when Harry looked him in the eye and simply said, “Come to dinner with me.”

“Okay.”

If Harry was surprised at Louis’ immediate response, he didn’t show it, simply nodding and smiling, repeating what Louis said.

“Okay.”

Over the years, during snuggles on the couch, lazy Saturday morning kisses traded in bed, or putting up with teasing from friends at parties, Louis would often reminisce about that day. And when Harry would inevitably laugh, Louis just looked him in the eye and said emphatically, “It was my plan all along, babe.”  

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are always massively appreciated!
> 
> If you enjoyed this, please [reblog the post](https://letsjustsee.tumblr.com/post/162809221152/only-reason-author-letsjustsee-word-count-5k), or come say hi on [Tumblr](http://letsjustsee.tumblr.com)!


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